Karina stood atop the highest building in the city, watching with heavy eyes as the final bastion of her people crumbled. The sky was a crystalline blue on that day, not a single cloud to block the sunlight. Nothing to impede the view of a falling civilization, of men, women, and children scrambling for safety as the Evil consumed them. Death came in the form of white mist, pernicious and thick, weaving between each building. It surrounded its victims, suffocating them, stealing the breath from their lungs. They clutched at their throats, gasping, faces turning from pale to blue as they fell to the cold blacktop. Karina knew these people, had grown up alongside them, had laughed and struggled and grown alongside them. They’d taken her in, given her purpose. Given her something to live for. And in return, she had failed them. She shut her eyes tight and turned away, seeking the comfort of darkness, praying to the heavens strength.

You have to persist, Seulgi’s kind voice echoed in her head, imploring her, driving her forward. You might have lost everything, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. There are still people out there who need you.

    Karina clenched her fists, swallowing hard, forcing herself to watch the massacre unfold below. She watched as the delivery crawled across a corpse-littered street, trying desperately to find a safe haven. She watched a mother - Kelly was the woman’s name, the wife of a baker - as she stumbled to the floor, her infant son still in her arms, her body curled as if trying to protect him. Karina imprinted each death in her mind, carved each name into the rough, battered surface of her memory. Even those that she didn’t know, even those that she wasn’t fond of.

    The tears flowed freely, but Karina knew her masters wouldn’t fault her for that. Not when everything she loved had just come crashing do